Story 2: The Class President
"Good morning, class! Today we're going to begin the campaigning for class president of the Reserve Course. Coming from the Talented Course to give a motivational speech is their class president, Kiyotaka Ishimaru."
The entire class groaned, including Hajime Hinata. Class president was a title no one really wanted to have. It gave them more responsibility and piled more work and stress on them than was usually needed. Despite the groan though… Hajime kind of wanted to run. He glanced over to the seat next to him to talk to Natsumi Kuzuryu and ask her whether or not he should do it, but she was fast asleep, holding a position that was just sneaky enough for her to pass off as listening to the lecture. Hajime chuckled to himself and turned to his left instead. He was immediately face-to-face with Komaru Naegi, one of his more energetic and supportive classmates.
"Hajime, you should totally run!" she whisper-yelled. Her eyes twinkled, a fire of determination blazing within them.
Hajime sighed. "I had a feeling you'd say that," he whispered back.
"I saw you turn to Natsumi first," Komaru sulked. "You weren't gonna ask me if you got an answer out of her." She pouted, though her eyes told Hajime she wasn't actually mad.
"You know how she is."
"Blunt?"
"Precisely. I think she'd have a more honest opinion."
"I was being honest!" Komaru shook her head. "Natsumi would've told you 'nah' and gone back to sleep. Why don't you ask Satomi if you want your 'honest opinion?'"
Hajime craned his neck to look at the desk behind him. Satomi Shimizu sat there, listening intently to the motivational speech, which had begun when Hajime wasn't paying attention. She noticed his eyes on her and blushed. "Wh-what's up, Hajime?" she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.
"I'm considering running for class president. What do you think? Komaru suggested I ask you."
Satomi's face fell a bit, but she perked up again and feigned a smile. "You totally should. I think you'd be a great president."
Hajime frowned. "You want to run too, don't you…"
"Y-yeah…" Satomi replied, sighing. "I thought, judging by the reactions of the others… I'd run unopposed." She then smiled. "But some competition will be nice. I'll be rooting for you."
"Same here, Satomi."
"I keep telling you, Hajime. Just Sato is fine." Sato then winked at him and refocused on the speech.
Hajime followed suit. The young man at the front of the classroom was wearing a white uniform, adorned with the Talented Class crest on his left breast. Hajime tried to hold back laughter as his gaze landed on the boy's bushy, brown eyebrows, though a tiny snort escaped his nose.
"I believe in you all! As the Ultimate Moral Compass, as well as class president of the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, it is my duty and honor to help the Reserve Course's president in any way possible. Just let me know. Good luck with the election!" said the speaker.
The young man then handed each student a pamphlet, reading material about the benefits of becoming class president. Hajime watched in horror as the boy walked by: as he left each desk, each student folded up, tore or crumbled up their pamphlet, tossing them into backpacks or nearby trash cans. The young man obviously looked downtrodden, but he didn't say anything. He handed Hajime his.
"The speech was great," Hajime said, even though he had been talking through the majority of it. "Thanks for taking the time to speak with us… err…" Hajime blanched. He had forgotten the guy's name.
"Just Taka is fine," the boy replied softly. "Thanks for that. I needed it." Taka stood up straighter. "You'd make a pretty good motivational speaker yourself."
"You think so?"
"Definitely. Run for president. I'll see you in the conference room when you win."
Taka patted Hajime on the shoulder and continued to hand out pamphlets. Hajime flipped through the papers he had been given, skimming the information. He nodded to himself. "Yeah," he muttered, smiling warmly. "I'll see you in the conference room, Taka."
.
A couple of days later, the Reserve Course classroom was buzzing with excitement. The campaign trail was short; the professor had only given the candidates one class period to make themselves known and persuade their classmates to vote. Today was the day of the election. Luckily for Hajime, he and Sato were the only ones on the ballot. Unluckily, she seemed to be more popular.
Komaru had offered to be Hajime's campaign manager once he had announced his candidacy, and he had accepted without question. Komaru was probably the only person Hajime could trust in his class to be his manager; Natsumi was too apathetic for such an ordeal, and Sato was his opponent. "You've got this, Hajime," Komaru said. She was beaming. Hajime couldn't help but smile back. "I'm definitely voting for you."
"Thank you for your help, Komaru," Hajime replied.
"Don't sweat it!" Komaru clapped him on the back and sat down in her seat.
Hajime inhaled and exhaled slowly, taking a deep breath. The professor handed each student a ballot, and the voting began. Before class, Hajime and Sato had promised to vote for each other, for fairness. Knowing Sato, she would definitely keep her end of the deal. Hajime bubbled in the name "Satomi Shimizu" on his ballot, folded it up and slid it into the ballot box.
The classroom phone rang as the students shuffled up to the box to deposit their ballots. The professor got up to answer it, and Hajime, being in a desk close to the phone, was able to hear snippets of the conversation.
"Yes… of course, sir. Yes. It will end shortly, yes. Alright. ...Of course, I'll send… yes, sir. Down to your office." He hung up and glared at Hajime, whom he had caught eavesdropping. Hajime looked down instinctively.
"Okay, class, time's up! Do as you please while I count the votes."
Sato approached Hajime, and the two of them shook hands. "I kept my end of it. I hope you did too."
"Sure did," Hajime replied. "Good luck."
The votes were counted fairly quickly; one pile was noticeably larger than the other. A lump formed in Hajime's throat. He knew Sato had more supporters than he did, but he was still nervous for the outcome.
"And the winner is… Mr. Hajime Hinata!"
Hajime's jaw dropped. He… he'd won. Komaru squealed with glee and rammed into him, wrapping her arms around his torso in a tight embrace. Sato joined in, and he reciprocated the hug. They then let go, and everyone returned to their seats to socialize with others.
"Congratulations, Hajime," said the professor as he walked up to Hajime's seat. He handed Hajime a note card with a number on it. "Go to this room after class. There's someone there who would like to congratulate you further."
Hajime nodded, though he was a little confused. Maybe this person would give him his first duties as president? He decided it wasn't worth dwelling on, and that he'd wait until after class to find out what the note card was about.
Time seemed to move more slowly, as Hajime was filled with anxiety and anticipation, but eventually the bell rang and everyone exited the classroom. Hajime turned into the corridor that the classroom on the note card was in, and he felt a tug on his shirt.
"Hajime, the lunch room is the other way! You'd better not get lost again," Komaru said.
"I'll be there soon," Hajime replied. "I… I have to talk to one of my professors really quick."
"Okay then. See you!" She ran down the hallway, flagging down Sato and Natsumi so she could walk with them.
Hajime made his way down the hall and to the classroom. It was at the very end of the emptiest hallway of the school, which was… odd, to say the least. He looked at the note card again, and then up at the sign with the classroom's name on it. Was this really the right place? He raised his hand to knock on the door, and…
...Before his hand touched it once, it opened. A man stepped out. He was tall, with arched eyebrows and salt-and-pepper hair. His smile was hollow, devoid of emotion. Hajime reeled back. "Uh… Sorry," he said. "I, uh… I guess I came to the wrong room…"
"You are Hajime Hinata, yes?" the man asked. Hajime nodded warily. "Congratulations on becoming class president of the Reserve Course."
"Um… thanks…"
The man chuckled. "It's alright, I won't bite. Step in here, Mr. Hinata. I have an offer for you. One could say it's… the ultimate offer."